Android to power half of all devices sold worldwide by 2015

Phone and tablet sales will continue to rise in 2014 and 2015 as PC shipments remain on a downward trend, according to the latest predictions from Gartner. By 2015, the research firm estimates that one out of every two devices shipped will be an Android device.

Tablet sales are expected to climb by 38.5 % in 2014 and by 29 % in 2015. In the phone market, where overall sales volumes are much higher, shipments rise by a more modest 4.8 % and 3 % respectively in the two years in question. Things are looking less rosy for the PC market, where Gartner estimates shipments will decline by 6.5 % in 2014 and 4.9 % in the following year. However, both of these figures indicate a slower drop in sales than the estimated 11.3 % decline in 2013, reported by the research firm last October.

In terms of volume, Gartner predicts the sale of 1.89 billion mobile phones, 276 million PCs and 270 million tablets in 2014. Gartner estimates that a total 2.48 billion devices will be sold over the current year, representing a 6.9 % increase over 2013.

Among operating systems, sales will increase for Windows, iOS/OS and Android alike over the coming two years, but Android is poised to strengthen its leading market share. Gartner forecasts that Google's operating system will be present on 51 % of devices sold worldwide in 2015 (compared to 38% in 2013 and 47% in 2014).